Monster and Man
by The Great Space Hobo
Summary: The crew of the Enterprise have picked up a distress signal from a Vulcan ship that has been missing for over 9 years, but when they beam down to help they find something that will call into question just how far man has come. light Spock/Kirk.
1. Tar' Ana

Space Hobo: Whoever gets the Stardate before it's over gets a cookie in the shape of a Star Fleet Officer of your choice. ;)

~Soren~ Hey people! I'm Soren, or more formally know as wolfsdaughter27, but call me Soren!

Space Hobo: Me and Soren had co-written this story together so don't forget to thank her too guys! (Really any part that's REALLY good was prop form her lol)

~Soren~ Space Hobo is too modest XD, she writes lots of good parts too. Anyway! Thanks' for stopping by to read guys! It makes me all happy inside =D

Space Hobo: and review! reviews make us happy too! :)

~Soren~ Yes, reviews make us very happy =D also, for those who care this is my page link = www . fanfiction. net/u/ 1725344/ Wolfs_Daughter27 just take out the spaces =D

Space Hobo: oh! and one more thing. Please don't flame, flames will be given to Khan to do with them as he pleases. Now you don't want that to happen do you?

~Soren~ I on the other hand will douse them with water. Fire is dangerous you sillies.

Space Hobo: Unless its Kirk and Spock that's flaming of course. XD But really, enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: We don't own Star Trek. *sniff* Ok I said it! you happy now! D :

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><p>"<em>Captain's Log, Stardate 2460.21; we are now in orbit of an uncharted planet, where we have picked up a weak distress signal from a Vulcan science vessel the Tar' Ana<em>,_ that was lost over 9 years ago. We've been trying to make contact with it and see if there are any survivors that need assistance, but there has yet to be any reply. We will beam down to the surface if no contact has been made within the hour."_

Captain James T. Kirk turned to Lt. Uhura as he clicked off the recording. "Any update Lieutenant?"

"I think," Uhura paused as she held her ear piece, "It was scrambled but I think I found the right frequency sir." The young Lt. clicked a few more buttons, "I was able to pinpoint the location of the distress signal, Captain; but no one is answering our hails."

"Mr. Sulu, have a scans turned up anything?"

"Negative Captain, the nearby ion storms are interfering with our instruments," Sulu replied.

Kirk pinched the bridge of his nose; this part of the galaxy was famous for its unpredictable ion storms. Many ships had been lost in this sector and he wanted to get out of here as soon as he could.

Jim sighed heavily before getting up from his chair and walked over to where Spock stood looking over the file that was written about the crash over 9 years ago.

"Anything on your end, Mr. Spock," The Captain asked as he leaned against the console.

"Negative, Captain," Spock answered, as he stared at the screen, flipping through the file faster than most humans could. However, the flipping quickly halted as the half-Vulcan stared at the screen.

"What is it, Spock?" Kirk asked, as he watched his first officer's eyebrow rise.

"Nothing of great importance, Captain; I simply recognized the name of one of the Vulcan's on the ship," Spock stated, before continuing his reading.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Kirks mouth, though it was more out of habit than any actual humor. "An old friend, Mr. Spock?" He asked as he leaned closer to see what the Vulcan was reading, even though the manifested name was long gone from the screen.

"Friendship is a human concept, Captain," Spock answered smoothly as he flipped through the files without missing a beat, "It was simply an old teacher of mine."

Kirks' smile grew more at Spock's answer. He really couldn't help it; it just tickled him to hear Spock talk all logically when he clearly had something on his mind. "Any information you might have about a crew member on the ship would be vital in the search and rescue effort, Mr. Spock." Kirk stated, switching back to captain mode and standing up straight, but the smile remained.

Spock looked over at his captain, his face a blank mask. "I have no information that isn't currently in the files, Captain. Soek and I didn't familiarize ourselves beyond being a student and a teacher," He answered indifferently.

Kirk nodded, knowing when not to push something, "All right Mr. Spock, keep on searching and be ready to beam down with the search party at 0400." He turned and informed Uhura to contact him if anything changed before entering the turbo lift, "Sickbay," he directed to the lift and held onto the handle as the computer sent him to his needed destination. Kirk exited the turbo lift walked quickly to the Sickbay where he found Dr. McCoy looking over a file that Nurse Chapel had handed him.

"Johannes has improved and his fever broke an hour ago, Doctor," Chapel informed the genial southern doctor before noticing Kirk had entered the room. "Good day, Sir."

With a nod from McCoy, Chapel turned and went back to her duties. Kirk, who had been waiting until they were finished talking, walked up to McCoy's side. "We're beaming down to the planet in under an hour. Get your med kit together. We don't know what we may find down there,"

"Yeah, yeah Jim," McCoy said, as he gestured toward a small kit sitting on the table beside him, "I'm way ahead 'a ya." McCoy leaned back on the table and crossed his arms with a smile, file still in one hand.

"Is it stocked for Vulcan biology?" Kirk asked raising an eyebrow at the country doctor.

"'Course it is Jim," McCoy answered with a frown, "Though I got to tell ya, took a bit of time. Outta all the aliens in the galaxy, it had to be those green-blooded hobgoblins!"

The man couldn't help but chuckle at his friends comment, "Now Bones, if it's too difficult for you..." Kirk trailed off as he turned away.

"Hey, now!" McCoy said with a mock glare, "I never said that!" Kirk laughed, while Bones mumbled something inaudible.

The younger man checked the time on McCoy's computer station and hit the intercom button on the desk, "Uhura report."

"Still nothing sir, shall Mr. Spock and I proceed to the Transporter room?" the Lt. replied over the COM link.

"Yes, we'll meet you there. Kirk out," after turning off the link he turned back to McCoy. "Shall we?"

The doctor slung the prepared med-kit over his shoulder before straightening and leading the way out of Sickbay. When they reached the Transporter Room Uhura, Spock, and two Ensigns assigned to Security were already waiting on the transport pad.

Bones looked over at the Vulcan who was flipping through his tricorder. With a sneaky smirk he walked over to Spock. "Mr. Spock it seems you have an untied lace on your shoe." McCoy started.

"That is illogical for you to even suggest, doctor, as I am wearing Star Fleet issue boots with no laces that you spoke of," Spock said calmly, not even looking up from what he was doing.

McCoy's face flushed pink with annoyance as he grumbled something along the lines of "Damn hobgoblin," and "don't they have April Fool's Day on that damn dust ball of a planet"

Meanwhile Kirk was by the console, barely managing to hold his expression neutral and trying not to laugh too hard at what he just heard. After taking a deep breath the Captain and doctor stepped onto the pad, taking up their proper positions. "Energize," Kirk said, to the Transporter Operator manning the controls. A few buttons were pressed, before the all too familiar whine of the transporter rang in the air and the Landing Party faded, in a shower of seeming shining sparkles before disappearing completely.

The party was released from the transporter signal, appearing in a dark, dense forest. In nearby trees birds took flight in a panic, the colors ranging from soft pink to jet black. All around then leaves swayed in a cool breeze and the sun shone brightly overhead. To their right were monstrous mountains that seen to reach so high they touched the heavens themselves. All in all, the place, while beautiful, had an unsettling effect on the crew.

"Sir, look! Over there!" Uhura pointed off to the left, where they could see the blackened shell that must have been the Vulcan ship.

"Let's move, but tread carefully… this place is unsettling." Kirk said, before making his way toward the crash site.

The group trekked slowly through the dense foliage towards the ship, and for a moment Uhura lost her balance as a vine caught her foot, and she fell into one of the Security Ensigns. There was a muttered apology before they continued on. Captain Kirk was the first to make it to the ship, as he brushed some tangled branches away from the side of the hull.

Spock pulled out his tricorder, taking careful reading and recordings while McCoy stepped closer to his Captain and the Ensigns checked the perimeter.

"It looks…" one of the young redshirt trailed off.

"It looks like no one's been here in years," Uhura whispered, brushing off a good deal of dirt from the side revealing a name; _Tar' Ana_.

With just a little bit of searching and a good deal of weeding, the crew was able to pry open one of the doors leading into the dark ship. Kirk took one look inside and turned to the rest of the crew, "All right everyone, split up and see if you can find any sign of survivors."

Kirk started to fan out away from the crash site, looking for anything that might indicate where the Vulcan's might have gone. The redshirts carefully ventured into the dark ship while McCoy and Uhura circled it, looking for clues as well.

The captain found it a little disorienting as he navigated through the overgrown forest, and for a moment he wondered if he'd get lost in the maze of weeds. However, when he turned to look back he was comforted by the sight of Spock only a few yards back staring down at his tricorder with that typical Vulcan intensity. He continued to beat through the brush in search of some kind of clue about what had happened to the Vulcan's that had, apparently, crash landed here nine years ago; dropped equipment, constructed shelters, or a corpse - maybe. His search was not bountiful or rewarding; this time.

"Captain," Spock said quietly, coming up behind him and startling him, "I believe there is someone hiding in the thicket." Spock gestured over to the left and Kirk looked over. There were some large overgrown bushes wrapped around the base of a towering tree; the perfect place for someone to hide.

Kirk raised an eyebrow and took a step toward the tangle of leaves and branches. He thought he saw something shift in the shadows but nothing else seemed to move. "Hello?" He called out, moving slowly as he talked, "I'm Captain James T. Kirk from the Starship Enterprise, we're here to hel-" Kirk was cut off when he got within a few feet of the bush. A small blur had shot out of the thicket and knocked him clean off his feet. By the time he had gotten his bearings about him whatever had knocked him over was trying to head deeper into the woods.

McCoy looked up as he heard something hit the ground in the distance, and something else rustled in the growth. He was able to pinpoint the noise in time to see a girl break through the weeds into the clearing.

"Jim!" He heard Spock call, and the girl whipped around to look behind her, giving McCoy a good look at her pointed ears.

Her hair was a tangled black mess, pulled back into a loss ponytail. The girls clothes where raged and well used, covered in patches. Light brown pants with a shawl like hoodie over green long sleeved shirt. He didn't get a good enough look but it all looked hand made by unskilled hands.

"What the hell?" McCoy said aloud, and the girl whipped around again. Her dark brown eyes were wide with fear that was unnatural for a Vulcan before they turned determined. The girl charged at him, and McCoy shifted to grab her, not one of his better ideas. He yelped as she slammed into his stomach with her shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground as she quickly recovered and bounded away into the brush once more.

"Doctor," Uhura cried as McCoy hit the ground hard, the air left his body with a great _whoosh_. Kirk and Spock were not far behind as Uhura helped the older man to his feet; by this time the two security men had come running with their phasers drawn.

"Don't let her get away" Kirk called out making a run for where the girl had taken off into the dense forest. The five other crewmembers trailed behind him as the girl slipped in and out of their line of sight.

"Wait!" Kirk called out as they gained a bit of ground, "We don't want to hurt you! We're here to help!"

Uhura and McCoy where starting to fall behind the others, as Uhura boots kept getting tangled in the weeds and McCoy was still very sore from getting body tackled by a Vulcan child.

"I don't understand," Uhura gasp between breaths, "She looked so... scared."

"Yeah," McCoy replied, as he huffed in pain, "I didn't know Vulcan's could feel fear."

Ahead Spock and Kirk were quickly loosing the rest of the group, but still not gaining ground on the girl. She seemed to know the forest well and used the brush to her advantage.

As they chased her further away from the crash site the forest floor cleared, the trees becoming less dense, leaving Kirk and Spock able to run unhindered by the growth. The girl looked behind her and saw the two men gaining ground and with a chocked sob she tried to run faster but her feet became tangled in vine like weeds and she slammed into the ground. Breathing hard she desperately tried to untangle herself before the men closed in on her.

Spock was the first to her side, gently wrapping one hand around her arm to lift her to her feet, while Kirk took a moment to catch his breath. The girl quickly surprised both of them by screaming at the top of her lungs and throwing her weight about in an attempt to get away once again.

Kirk looked at Spock at total loss for words now that they got a good look at her they could see she was clearly Vulcan. Green blood tricked out of tiny scratch's on her hands from when she'd fallen.

"Please! Stop screaming! We won't hurt you!" Kirk tried to shout over the girl's screeching. "Where are the others, your parents!"

The girl refused to stop screaming, and only seemed to struggle harder against Spock's grip. For a child, she was strong and Spock had to take a moment to grapple with her. Eventually he'd taken both her wrists in his right hand with his left resting on her shoulder to nerve pinch her if it proved necessary. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

The girl twisted in his grasp and sank her teeth into Spock's arm just as the Security Ensigns, Doctor McCoy, and Uhura caught up to them. Spock hissed and pulled his arm back as she wrestled against him. Eventually she ended up on her bottom in the dirt, half-hanging from her wrists that Spock still held.

McCoy couldn't help but smirk as the Vulcan struggled to keep hold of the thrashing child. "Having trouble controlling a kid Mr. Spock?"

Spock looked over at him with an emotionless expression as he said, "Not nearly as much trouble as you had, Doctor."

McCoy looked shocked for a minute before he angrily mumbled, "Vulcan's."

The girl finally had to stop screaming to gasp for air, her dark eyes flicked to Spock's injured wrist where green blood dripped from his wound. Her whole body seemed to go limp and she hung there, her eyes darting across his face, pausing on his pointed ears and eyebrows.

"Mr. Spock, are you all right?" Kirk asked with concern.

"The wound is superficial, Captain," Spock assured him as he lowered the hand that was still holding the girl so he wouldn't hurt her shoulders.

Seeming satisfied by Spock's answer Kirk turned back to the young child, and asked, "Why did you run away from us?"

The girl finally tore her eyes away from Spock's face and looked at Kirk in fear. "P-please d-don't hur-hurt me." her voice broke in fear.

"Hurt you! Why would you think that?" Uhura asked the girl gently, shock laced in her tone.

The girl's lower lip trembled as she looked around the group, before fat tears started rolling down her cheeks. She started sobbing loudly like a child who was lost in the dark, and Spock slowly released her wrists.

"I just wanted to explore in the woods," She said through sobs, "Please don't punish me!"

"There is no logical reason for us to punish you," Spock answered coolly, while Uhura moved closer to comfort the girl.

Kirk kneeled down to be at the girl's eye level, smiling at her kindly. "We aren't going to hurt you, we are from Starfleet. You know what that is right?"

The girl cringed away from Kirk, like she thought she was about to get hit. "N-No," she replied, leaning away from Uhura when she got too close.

Kirk looked a bit shocked at her answer and glanced at Spock before turning to the girl again, "Where are the rest of you? Where are your parents?"

Now the girl was starting to recover from the shock of seeing Spock bleed green, she had gotten to her feet and Spock had a feeling that she was about to run off again.

"Dead, I guess," The girl answered quietly.

Spock laid a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from trying to escape.

"You guess?" McCoy asked as he looked the girl up and down for injury, "Who's been taking care of you all this time?"

The girl didn't seem comfortable with the questions or Spock's hand on her shoulder as she shrunk back a little. The panicky feeling started to return, the shock comply gone now. She shifted on her feet and tried to step away from Spock.

Spock turned toward McCoy to answer the question, when the girl seized the moment to kick him in the shins and bolt yet again.

"Damn it!" Kirk cursed as he took off after her again, the others not far behind him. Only this time they didn't catch up with her as she disappeared into a field of corn that seemed to come out of nowhere in the endless woods they had seen so far.

"A corn field," Uhura said shocked then looked off into the distance, they could see the roof of wood houses and smoke rising from some of the chimes. At the fair end of this was a large hill with a white church perched on top. "And a town? What's going on here?"


	2. traped

SpaceHobo: soooo…. I'm not to sure where Soren is right now so sadly no wity quips today. Sorry. :( And my bad for taking so long to post this chap… I kinda…sorta…forgot to do it. *cough* anyway read, enjoy, and review.

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><p>"What in God's name is going on here!" Kirk exclaimed in frustration, clearly having enough.<p>

"From what I gathered from her mind," Spock said as they stared into the thick corn stalks, "this planet is inhabited by humans. She's been enslaved by them as far back as her memory goes."

"Enslaved?" Kirk asked with shock as he turned to face his first officer.

"That's horrible!" Uhura said in disgust, crinkling her nose.

Spock nodded once as his brows twitched into a frown that only Jim noticed. "They seemed to believe she is a devil," Spock informed them.

"I told ya," McCoy said, as he rubbed his bruising stomach, "Give a Vulcan a pitch fork and a pointy tail and anyone would think they're from hell."

"This is hardly the time for jokes, doctor," Spock replied coldly.

Kirk scowled darkly over toward the town. "And the other Vulcan?" the Caption asked, his tone sharp with anger.

"She had no memory of other Vulcan's in service to the humans. I assume they are either dead or in hiding, Captain," Spock answered.

"Not all of us, Spock," the voice sounded scratchy and weathered, like worn out sandpaper.

The rest of the crew jumped a foot in the air in surprise as a elderly male Vulcan walked into view. Even by Vulcan standards he was old, his back was hunched and his face wore many lines from a hard life.

"Hmm, and I estimated the chances of our distress signal being answered an 0.5%"

"Soek," Spoke greeted, raising his hand in the traditional Vulcan greeting.

Soek returned the gesture, before dropping his hand and saying, "It is acceptable to see a familiar face again. However, I suggest you leave quickly Spock. The human's here wouldn't take kindly to your presence."

Kirk's eyes widen slightly with worry, but McCoy seen to be the only one to notice this. The Caption stepped in front of the rest of the group, "I am Caption James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. We have come here in answer of your distress signal. Mr. Soek, please tell us what happen."

"My team and I came here to study the Ion storms. We lost control of the ship and had to make an emergency landing. Logically we knew the risks, and took the necessary precautions, but we were not planning on human's existing here," Soek explained, as he moved to lean tiredly against a nearby tree.

"And you where enslaved," Kirk said, more to himself than anyone else with his head down as if he were in morning.

"The little girl said you where all dead," Uhura said, her worry for the child growing as this new information came to light. "She was terrified of us."

"They prohibit the two of us from meeting," Soek informed them, " I am not surprised to hear of her showing fear. She has not had the proper training to control her emotions and the human's here believe we are like beasts; that they can do as they wish with her and me. She logically thinks you are one of them. It is not just us here either, they have enslaved other species that had the misfortune to crash here as well."

"What I want to know is how this has gone unnoticed for so long," Kirk exclaimed folding his hands behind his back, and starting to pace" we have mappings of all human settlements, we have no none records of a religious colony here."

"The human's came here during the time of the Eugenic War's, or so they say" Soek clarified, "It's likely that the records of their take off were lost."

"Well this stops now," Kirk said, his voice becoming firm as he flipped out his communicator, "Kirk to Enterprise."

"Ay Cap'in?" Scotty answered. "We find any Vulcan's?"

"The circumstances have changed, 7 to beam up,"

"No can do Cap'in, an Ion storm is coming in and it's buggered the transport pads, I don't want to risk it." In the back ground Kirk could her alarms starting to go off. "It's no passing throw like we hoped sir, we have to get outta dodge or we might be without power."

Kirk sighed heavily and nodded, "You do that Mr. Scott. I don't want to risk the ship, once you're out of range I want you to contact Star Fleet and tell them we got a 7-24 on our hands."

"Hostages? How many?" Scotty asked shocked.

"Of unknown number, but the inhabits are hostel and holding the Vulcan's and others against their will."

"Will do Caption, God speed," Scotty said before giving orders to people in the background.

"God Speed, Mr. Scott," the captain sighed, "Kirk out." And with that he flipped his communicator closed.

"We're going to be stuck here? For how long?" Uhura chocked out as she griped her hands tightly.

"I don't know, but from now on... it's just us," Kirk said quietly as he slipped his communicator back onto his belt.

"Mr. Soek, you never answered us about the other Vulcan's," One of the cadets, Baker, asked. "Can they help us maybe?"

"No," Soek answered quietly, "The others are all dead. The girl's mother was killed by the humans after she was caught running away. The rest slowly succumbed to Pon Farr and were thought to have gone rabid. They were "put down" as the humans put it. I'm all that's left."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Uhura said with sympathy.

"That's disgusting," The other redshirt, Tennant, muttered.

"The ignorance here," Kirk shook his head, looking at Spock carefully, worried of how the Vulcan would take it.

Spock wasn't happy about this news to say the least, but he crushed the emotions rising up inside him and locked them away. "Where are these human's currently?" Spock asked as he tried to formulate a plan in his head.

"They are attending church at the moment. Service will be ending shortly, it would be wise if you were out of sight by then Spock," Soek answered as he looked towards the chapel in the distance.

Kirk nodded. "Right, we should go back to the _Tar' Ana_ for now," Kirk said as he walked over to Spock and took his arm gently, "Well take care of this once the Enterprise comes back, Spock. Their monstrous acts will not go unpunished t'hy'la," Kirk whispered quietly.

Spock only nodded, as his fingers found his captain's hand and he felt their fingertips met in a Vulcan kiss. Kirk smiled before looking back at Soek. "We will be coming back to help you," He promised, determination in his eyes.

"I will await your return," Soek replied, before he turned and started through the thick corn fields.

McCoy rolled his eyes, " If you don't mind me _sirs_, I have no intention of being caught by those nutters. If you need me I'll be at the ship." with that the good Doctor strolled away, calling the two Baker and Tennant to follow.

Uhura on the other hand, looked at Kirk with worried brown eyes, "Captain, what about the little girl? I don't want her to be left with those horrible people!"

"For now there's nothing we can do, Lieutenant. She'll have to survive another day with them. We can't do anything without the Enterprise," Kirk answered. Uhura seemed upset by the thought, but didn't argue with her captain as she followed after McCoy and the redshirts.

Kirk turned to look at Spock who was staring after his old Vulcan teacher who had long since disappeared. He gently squeezed his hand, gaining his loves attention before leading the way into the forest after the others.

That night the party sat in what was left of what must have been the ships command room. Uhura was fiddling with one of the old computers, trying to reroute what was left of the ships power to it.

Tennant and Baker seen more interested in pocking around the parts of the _Tar' Ana_ they had yet to explore, which left Kirk, McCoy, and Spock to their own devises.

"Look Jim, I know this is a hostel condition but I don't think it's a good idea to get involved with their development this time. I don't see the point," McCoy grumbled as Kirk paced the floor space.

"Not when they have shown out-right hostility toward Federation allied planets. Who knows how many others they have enslaved!" Kirk snapped, pacing the floor angrily.

"I know your upset Jim, but that gives you no right to snap at me," McCoy replied icily.

"Captain," Spock spoke up, "McCoy has a point. It would be best if we don't directly interfere with these people beyond rescuing the slaves. Despite your differences, these people are human too and should be dealt with by Federation officials."

Kirk looked at Spock then sighed heavily before sitting down, "All they will do is make this whole area a restricted zone."

"Sirs, I've been thinking," Uhura said as she kept tinkering with the computer, "If they knew this was a dangers mission.. Why would a pregnant woman come along? It doesn't seem very logical."

"Well, that's assuming that she was pregnant when they crashed here." McCoy replied.

"This isn't important right now. Uhura, I know you're worried about the girl, but we won't be of any help if we don't think of a way to stop this," Kirk told her in a even tone.

"Sorry sir," Uhura said with an apologetic smile back, "It's just something that's been bugging me."

Kirk waved it off as he paced across the room, his mind in deep thought. "You know, Captain, Lieutenant Uhura has a point," Spock spoke up, "It is not logical for a pregnant Vulcan to take such a dangerous mission."

Kirk tried and failed again to guide the topic to something different, all though he told himself it was because they had more important things to do. In the back of his mind a thought was forming that he was not willing to confront.

"She could have conserved the child here," McCoy stated bluntly.

Kirk cured under his breath, he never was on to be steal.

"Unlikely, Doctor," Spock answered, "There were no records of mated couples aboard the craft."

"I wasn't talking about the Vulcan's you thick sculled hobgoblin!" McCoy barked, "As you should know."

Spock didn't reply to the doctor's outburst, and raised a questioning brow. "As I would know?" He asked, temping the doctor to finish the thought.

McCoy looked like he was about to answer when Kirk finally spoke up, "We're straying off topic guys."

Right," McCoy sighed heavily and looked at the captain, "Sorry Jim."

Suddenly there was an odd clicking noise followed by a buzz as the computer screen came to life. "Sirs, I got something on the monitor!" Uhura cried, very pleased with herself.

A female Vulcan kept fizzing in and out on the screen her voice clearing as Uhura tried to tune the monitor a bit more.

"_Ships log, Stardate... unknown. My crew and I have been stranded on this unidentified planet by an unpredicted Ion Storm. We knew the risks, logically... But we where unprepared for the inhabitance of this world..." Her voice and picture started to go again. _

"Damn it, I'm losing her!" Uhura hissed as she franticly tried to regain the picture.

"Allow me to assist you," Spock said, moving to help her with the screen. A moment later it came back into focus and their attention returned to the screen.

"_They... reacted hostilely and took advantage of my injured crew and I. The others have assisted me in my escape from the humans to keep grad of our ship, trying to do the repairs that I can. It is Illogical to think any of my aborts will prove fruitful... But the sitionen has seen to change.." She opuses as she looks down._

"That must be how the distress signal has lasted so long," Kirk mused aloud.

"She," Uhura paused to find the right words, "looks so sad.

"Fer a Vulcan, yeah," McCoy said, though his words didn't hold their usual bite.

The screen phased out for a minute before coming back into focus. The Vulcan woman seemed to be working with some controls before glancing back at the screen.

"_One of my crewman was lost when we were attacked by an angry mob. They seem to think we are no more than senseless beasts which may prove to be the only thing to save us. The ship is too damaged from the landing to take us beyond the atmosphere, and we don't expect a rescue crew," _the Vulcan woman said. The screen went fuzzy again, and her voice turned into a high pitched screeching.

Spock and Uhura worked for a moment to fix the thing as Kirk shook his head sadly and began pacing once more. After a moment, it came back into focus halfway through the Vulcan woman's sentence.

"... _unable to fight back, and I believe I'm now pregnant with their child," _She said, her face unmarred by her words, though her eyes looked... emotional_. "Our food supplies are abundant, and I estimate we have enough for another ten months. Perhaps, by then, a ship will pass by and here our distress signal but there is only a 0.5% chance of that_." The words held a note of finality in them as the woman stared at the screen silently for a moment, before reaching to shut it off.

By this time Kirk had stop pacing and walked over to the empty screen. "Is there any more?"

Uhura, who looked like she was in her own world, blinked and looked up at the captain. "I can try sir, there might be..." She trained off as she started punching in a few buttons.

"She sounded, dare I say distressed at the end," McCoy sighed deeply. "Maybe there is hope for them yet," though the Doctor didn't mean it as an inset to Vulcan's, he said it as a simple statement.

It was well into the night when Uhura broke the silence that had taken over the crew. "I think this is the last recording Captain," She said as she pressed a few buttons, and the familiar face of the Vulcan woman appeared on the screen. It fizzed out for a moment, losing her first few words before Spock and Uhura were able to get it back into focus.

_"... still hasn't arrived, and our food supply is dwindling. I estimate it will last another three weeks and two days," _She paused, as if sorting things through in her head, before continuing_, "The child was born a few days ago. She is more human than Vulcan, and I found it difficult to form a bond with her. I've named her Sophie. Despite..." _The sound of metal knocking against metal sounded in the video and the Vulcan woman turned to the right, as a baby began screaming in the background.

The woman stood so all that was visible was her mid-section, as shouting erupted in the video. The next moment there was a flood of figures in the background.

"_No_!" She shouted, and pulled her phaser from her belt on instinct. There was a loud gunshot and green blood splashed across the camera as the Vulcan woman fell to the ground.

Figures filled the background, running around and one could be seen carrying the still screaming Vulcan child. The face of a nameless man appeared on the screen before it shut off.

An icily chill seen to settle over the crew as they all continued to stare at the blank screen, no one seen to know what to say.

"I... my God," was the only thing Uhura was able to mutter.

Kirk didn't say anything, he didn't need to. The anger seen to be coming off him in waves, as his mind started to plan a whole new course of actions.

"Uhura, make sure you saves these files. They will be used as evidence against these people for their crimes," Jim replayed crisply before turning and heading out of the room.

Spock stood to follow after his angry t'hy'la's, while Uhura rushed to do as she was ordered.

McCoy shook his head, as he sighed. "Sometimes I really can't believe what we're capable of," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Spock found Kirk a few yards away from the ship, staring up at the star filled sky. The Vulcan didn't need their bond to know the Kirk was brooding. The captain appalled the mistreatment of others, especially women and children.

"These people, Mr. Spock," Kirk didn't look at him, keeping his eyes turned to the sky. "There great capsaty for hate, fear, violence. They are very... human."

"Yes," Spock agreed, resting one hand on Jim's shoulder, "They are primal human's, but human's none the less. This bothers you?"

Kirk couldn't help but smile at Spock's works, but the smile held a bitter edge to it. "You just think that, when us as a species use to be, how others view us, we have come a long way. But, these people, these humans…" Kirk sighed and looked over at Spock, "It makes me ashamed to think we are even in the same gene pool."

Spock nodded. "I understand the feeling," Spock said quietly, "I am half human after all."


End file.
